Cancer and Other Misfortunes
by if-i-could-live-4ever
Summary: DISCONTINUED [Mortal!AU] Nico di Angelo was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He was then sent to live in the hospital under intense care. There, he meets a boy with decaying vocal cords who dreams of becoming a doctor, a boy with a significant brain tumor and gorgeous eyes, and other kids in similar situations. "Maybe we're all dying, but for now, we're alive."
1. Dam Oxygen Tank

When I heard the words "terminal cancer," let's just say that I wasn't happy.  
Who would be? I mean, I had something of a life to live, and here I am, throwing it away to some dumb disease.  
Plus, the oxygen tank is annoying.  
I was unpacking the few things I had brought with me. It appeared that I had a roommate, but whoever he was, he wasn't present. I decided to walk around the hospital, and nearly forgot my tank. Damn, I hate that thing.  
The halls echoed with remnants of kids and hopes and dreams. And voices. Yelling.  
Just then, a wheelchair whizzed past me. The wheelchair then ran into a wall, dumping it's inhabitant onto the floor.  
A boy, with dark hair and sea green eyes, stood up, laughing. Then he noticed me.  
"You might wanna watch out." He suggested. Still in shock, I didn't answer.  
Then another boy in a wheelchair rocketed past. He swerved to avoid us, and crashed into the wall as well. He cursed colorfully, and all I could think of was how angry my stepmom would have been.  
This kid looked like an elf, with his mischievous grin and pointed features. His dark curls bounced when he laughed, which was a bit unnerving. "Percy! Man, I almost had you too!"  
The green eyed kid laughed. "Think Will's gonna get mad? We did just destroy two wheelchairs. And technically those were the fifth ones this week."  
"Nah, he'll never notice."  
It was then, I think, that they noticed me.  
"Hi! I'm Percy. What's your name?" The green eyed one was quick to ask.  
"Uh... I'm Nico. Di Angelo." Way to go, me.  
"Hiya Nico! I'm Leo, the ultimate McShizzle, bad boy supreme!" The Latino kid, Leo, stood up, holding out a hand for me to shake. I just stared at it, so he moved his hand to his pocket. "So... Lungs?" He asked, pointing to my tank.  
"Oh. Yeah. Stage four." Both boys winced.  
"Whew. That sucks." Percy said, shaking his head.  
"Totally." Leo shrugged. "Well, I have a growing tumor in the stomach area, and Percy here has a good sized one in his noggin." He rapped his knuckles on Percy's head to emphasize his point. Percy flinched away, rubbing his head.  
"Thanks for that, Leo." He snapped, when another voice cried out.  
"SEAWEED BRAIN!" The voice was decidedly feminine, and most definitely angry. I turned to see a blonde girl marching towards us.  
Now, I'm not into girls, but she was pretty. Her hair curled into ringlets like a fairytale princess's, and her skin was a Californian tan.  
However, she had a terrifying look on her face. She stomped directly over to Percy, promptly whacking him upside the head.  
"Idiot! Will is going to kill you guys. And Dr. Chiron has been going crazy. Cut the old man some slack, will you?" She rolled her stormy gray eyes.  
"Sorry Annabeth." Percy replied, rubbing the back of his head ruefully.  
It was then the girl looked over at me. "And who is this?"  
I opened my mouth to speak, but Leo interrupted me. "This is Nico. Lungs." I just nodded instead.  
The girl smiled. "I'm Annabeth. Brain tumor."  
Percy threw his arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "And my girlfriend!" He gave her a big kiss on cheek.  
I had to admit, I was a bit disappointed. Percy was pretty cute, and more my type than Leo's. Oh well. There were going to be more boys here.  
"Well, Nico, how about I introduce you to everyone else? I think we should leave these idiots to their own shenanigans." Annabeth gestured down the hall from where she came.  
"Sure." I said, and she smiled. I followed her down the hall.

"This is mine and Piper's room." Annabeth said, gesturing to another room. "Piper isn't in there now, but I'm sure we'll find her somewhere."  
I nodded, a bit out of breath. Annabeth walked really quickly.  
"I wonder..." Annabeth looked over at me, a suspicious look on her face. "Do you share a room with Jason?"  
I managed a breathless word. "Who?"  
Annabeth nodded, rolling her eyes. "I'm an idiot. Is your room number twenty?"  
I nodded, and Annabeth laughed. A simple, short, amused laugh. I was tempted to laugh too, but my lungs disagreed.  
"You share a room with Jason. He's a nice guy, but if you need your space, be sure to tell him. He's... a bit of a hugger. No shame at all." She shook her head, and her cheeks flushed. I suspected there was a story there, but I wasn't in the mood to ask.  
"So what is everyone like?" I asked, sitting on a bench in the hall to catch my breath. Annabeth leaned against the wall.  
"Well, you've met Percy and Leo. Your first impressions of them sum up their entire character, for the most part. Piper, my roommate, is a bit on the mischievous side. Don't bring your valuables when meeting her." I found my hand moving to cover the skull ring on my finger. Annabeth didn't seem to notice.  
"She's also good friends with Percy, which isn't good for either of them. You wouldn't believe the shenanigans those two get up to." She shook her head. "Jason's your roommate, so I've already told you a bit about him. Then there's Frank and Hazel..."  
"I already know them." I interrupted, which maybe wasn't the best idea. Annabeth raised a curious eyebrow.  
"Hazel is my half-sister. And Frank is her boyfriend. Hazel is actually the one who recommended this hospital to my step-mom." I felt like I was rambling, but Annabeth didn't seem annoyed or upset.  
"Huh. Cool." She grinned, pushing herself off the wall and into a standing position. "There's one more person... but I think it's better if you meet him in person." She smirked, and I began to worry.  
"W-what's their name?" I managed, standing as well.  
Annabeth's smirk only widened. "His name is Will Solace."


	2. Will Solace (swoon)

Annabeth and I continued to walk down the halls, but this time with aim. She refused to talk about this Will Solace character.

Which was fine, I guess. It gave me some time to think on everyone here.

I've only met three of them, but Hazel said that besides her and Frank, there were six others. Annabeth named them... who were they? Well, I've met Percy, Leo, and Annabeth, so that's three. Then there's my supposed roommate, Jason, so that's four. Then Pippy? Pina? Pipes? Something like that.

Then whoever the heck Will was.

Annabeth led me over to a closed door, with a sign hung across the doorknob. It was scrawled on in an almost incomprehensible scrawl.

"LEO AND WILL'S ROOM. DO NOT ENTER UNLESS YOU ARE HOT."

Beneath that lovely message was a second handwriting, this one small and written in quick cursive, that was undoubtably hard to read. It was like wannabe doctor handwriting.

"Boys and girls included."

Annabeth raised a hand to knock.

The door was opened by a boy who- woah.

He was tall and lean, not muscular, but built more like a swimmer. His hair was a pale blond, an his skin was a dark bronze. If I wasn't already having trouble breathing, this boy would have taken my breath away.

"Will, this is Nico. He's new." Annabeth introduced, grinning like a maniac.

"Obviously he's new! I think I would have noticed him before this." Will winked at me, and I swear I nearly collapsed right then and there.

But that was probably the walking. Yeah, that was it. Definitely.

Annabeth laughed. "Mind if I let you finish the tour for him? I've got to go make sure Percy doesn't break anything else."

"Go on. I've got this." Will waved her away, and turned his sky blue eyes to me. "Nico, huh?"

I nodded. "And you're Will."

He grinned. "Why don't you come in? You look like you need a break."

I nodded again, and stepped forward. But, with my luck, I tripped on the doorway and fell... INTO WILL SOLACE'S ARMS. OH MY GOD.

Sorry about that. Ahem. I will now regain maturity. Ahem. Excuse me.

Anyways, Will laughed, and lifted me back onto my feet. Most likely a bright red, I walked into the room and sat in a large chair near the door. Will shut the door, loud enough to make me jump, and sat across from me on what looked to be his bed. It was made neatly, and on the nightstand beside it was a few pictures. One was of Will and a blonde woman that looked a great deal like Will, but her smile was warm the way a mother's was, and she had more freckles. There was a blurry picture of the same woman, and a man. But the man's features were blurred greatly. It was too the point I couldn't even describe the photo. The third was of everyone here, apparently. It looked to be that way, because I saw Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and Will. There were also a few people I didn't know. One was a dark-skinned and dark-haired girl, with one arm around Leo and the other around a boy who looked like Will, except his hair was shorter and he had glasses. Then there was a dark-haired Hispanic girl who was taller than everyone else. And finally, a redhead girl wearing paint-splattered clothes.

Not knowing what to say, I pointed at the group photo. "Who is in that picture?"

Will turned to the nightstand. "Hm? The group one?"

"Yeah."

He stood and walked over to the nightstand, grabbing the picture and sitting down beside me on the arm of the chair.

"That's Percy, Annabeth, and me," he said, pointing to each in turn. "I assume that you've met Percy?" I nodded.

Will laughed. "He's interesting, that one. Alright. Beside Annabeth is Reyna, who, ah..." Will bit his lip, staring at the ground. "She passed away a few months ago. Anorexia. She was strong, but... not strong enough." He shook his head. "Anyways. Beside Reyna is Leo, and beside him is Piper, and then Jason. Those three are inseparable."

"What about her?" I asked, pointing at the redhead girl.

Will bit his lip again. "Thyroid. Died a few weeks after we took the picture, actually." He let out a breath that sounded like a laugh, but wasn't light and full like his other ones.

All I could think to say was "oh."

Will clapped his hands loudly, as if clearing away the gloomy attitude of the conversation. "Anyways! I was told to finish your tour. It's about lunchtime. To the cafeteria we go!" He stood, offering me a hand. I took it, praying to everything that my hands weren't sweaty.

Then he pulled me out into the hallway, and all I could think was that he walked much faster then Annabeth.


	3. Food for the Devil

I grabbed a tray, carrying it with my left and dragging my oxygen tank with my right. Will chattered on, but I didn't pay much attention.

He grabbed a few things from the trays behind the glass, shoving items onto my tray as well.

When we sat down at a small, round table, I had an apple, a chicken sandwich, and some weird-looking noodles drenched in an unknown sauce. Will looked at me expectantly, and I shrugged. "What are you looking at?"

He just laughed, taking a bite of his food. He made a face, but swallowed anyways. "The worst food in the world, but hey, it's food."

"Are you sure?" I asked, poking at the noodles with a fork. Will laughed again.

"Mostly."

I let a smile past my lips, glancing over at Will. His face shone, his eyes twinkling. I glanced back at my tray, feeling a hot blush creep onto my cheeks.

It was then that someone sat across from us. I looked up to see the blonde boy from the picture in Will's room.

"Hey Jason." Will greeted. The boy, Jason, nodded.

"Hey. Who are you?" It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me.

"Uh... I'm Nico. Di Angelo." I gave the boy a small smile. "I've heard that we'll be sharing a room?"

Jason looked confused for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah! Wow, it's been a while since I've had a roommate. You'll have to excuse my strange habits." He laughed, and I chuckled along. I glanced over to see Will beaming.

Then a girl sat beside Jason. She had dark skin, and her eyes changed color. It was more than a bit unnerving.

"Hello! Who's the new kid?" She asked loudly, directing it at Will.

"This is Nico. Nico, meet Piper." I gave her a small smile to accompany Will's introduction.

"Well, it's nice to meet you!" Piper pointed to my tank. "Lungs?"

"Yeah," I said, shrugging. "What about you?"

"Got a big tumor hanging out in my brain. It's destroying my hearing, but nothing else." She grinned. So that's why she was so loud.

Jason smiled, wrapping an arm around Piper. Figures. Looks like all the cute guys are taken. Well, except for Will. Probably. Who knows.

I took a wary bite of my food (if you can call it that), and unconsciously felt my face contort into an expression of extreme pain. I heard Will's singsong laugh, and Piper's raucous one. Jason just smiled in pity.

"It takes a while to get used to." Jason grimaced, and Piper laughed more. I swallowed slowly, and noticed that people were beginning to look at us. I had to hold back a small smirk.

Then I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"Nico!" I turned, and saw my half-sister Hazel walking towards me. She had her trademark youthful grin, and her boyfriend, Frank, was right behind her.

I gave them a small wave. Hazel sat to my right, and Frank sat between her and Piper.

Jason looked between me and Hazel in confusion. "You two know each other?"

"Hazel is my half-sister." I said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She smiled.

"Haven't I told you guys about Nico before?" Hazel asked, staring pointedly at Jason and Piper.

"Maybe once or twice." Piper shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "I have an awful memory."

"You don't say." I looked up again, and saw it was Annabeth who had spoken. She sat beside Will, and Percy sat beside her.

"Jackson." Jason greeted Percy gruffly, but not without a joking undertone.

"Grace." Percy said, smiling mischievously.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Can you two deal with this in the bedroom?"

Everyone laughed at that. Well, except for Frank, who turned bright red. And my laugh was only a mere chuckle.

See, I liked the people here, but I wasn't quite comfortable. I guessed that it would take several weeks for that. I'm not a especially outgoing person, so fitting in is one of my weaknesses.

But my new friends were forcing me to give an effort.

After several more minutes of teasing and jeering, Hazel spoke up.

"Where's Leo?" She gazed around the room meaningfully.

Percy shrugged. "Probably with Calypso." He took a bite of his (blue?) macaroni and cheese.

"Isn't he always?" Piper gave a small sigh, and the rest of the table fell into an awkward silence.

"Uh... who's Calypso?" I inquired, breaking the silence.

Jason answered me. "Leo's girlfriend. She's here every day for every one of the visiting hours."

"Oh." My stomach seemed to turn into a small weight, dropping to the floor. Maybe it was the food. Or maybe it was the dark feeling that everyone here was taken. That everyone had some significant other.

Knowing my luck, Will's girlfriend (or boyfriend; that would be really upsetting) would show up.

My emotions must have been showing through my expression, because Hazel laid a gentle hand on my knee.

"You okay?" She gave me a small smile.

I returned the grin. "The usual levels of dying."

Hazel smirked, hitting me gently. "You shouldn't joke about your illness like that."

"Then what else do I do?" I looked down at my lap, staring at her dark hand against my black jeans.

"Hope, I guess. That's about all you can do." Hazel let out a small sigh. "Hope, and wait out the storm."


End file.
